Renewable Energy – Hydrostatic Electricity

This scene lets students explore the use of hydrostatic electricity as an alternative source of renewable energy. They will explore and learn about what makes hydroelectricity renewable and a good alternative to fossil fuels. They will develop an understanding of how electricity is generated by the 3 main types of hydroelectric powerplants and the use of gravity to transfer the energy from water through the turbines, with a particular focus on pump-storage facilities. Like all renewable forms of energy, they will learn about the drawbacks of their use.

# Learning objectives

1: To understand how moving water from a height is a source of renewable energy.{.info}

2: To know how hydrostatic electricity powerplants work.{.info}

3: To identify the drawbacks of hydrostatic electricity.{.info}

# Hydrostatic Electricity as an Alternative Energy Source{.objective .objective1}

Students will learn about water flow as an alternative source of renewable energy within a hydroelectric powerplant. Students will be asked to explore the pump-storage hydroelectric plant to identify the type of powerplant. They will be asked to begin thinking about what is used to create water flow.

# Generating Electricity{.objective .objective2}

Here students will learn about the basic design of a pump-storage facility and the use of a reservoir to store gravitation potential energy from water once it’s at the top of the hill. Students will be asked to observe the water flowing in the pipelines and look for evidence that gravitational potential energy is being stored from the water being pumped upwards to the reservoir.

# The Drawback of Hydrostatic Electricity{.objective .objective3}

Students will learn about some of the disadvantages of using hydrostatic electricity. They will observe the design of the pump storage facility and evaluate the impact this type of facility has on the landscape and therefore the local habitat for wildlife.

# Teacher Resources

**Download Teacher Notes**

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/793656/files/Hydrostatic%20Electricity+Teacher+Notes+1.pdf?date=1677247622&size=1159551&md5=4e23f271d7f265c028e1110612e06a64)

**Student Quiz Answers Document**

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/793657/files/Hydrostatic%20Electricity+Teacher+Notes+2.pdf?date=1677249713&size=630974&md5=6b9eeca53ae058aef1fabb165b0d37ca)

**Download Student Quiz Document**

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/793659/files/Hydrostatic%20Electricity+Teacher+Notes+3.pdf?date=1677247760&size=94600&md5=423102d9061ecf353e3cd4be452db0cf)